I knew it was all on me. We were winning, but if I didn’t win, they could have come back and beat us. – Aaron Verduzco
OREM — Despite taking a 35-point advantage into the second and final day of the 1A state tournament, Duchesne coach Ken Lym was still far from ready to start making room in the school's trophy case.
With a full day of action ahead, including both the semifinals and finals, Lym knew the competition was stiff and the possible outcomes were endless.
“Wrestling is full of upsets, and there's always a chance it won’t go our way,” Lym said. “There are several terrific teams here, and we’ll just have to come out, wrestle strong, and wait and see what happens — anything could happen.”
The Eagles came out and continued to extend their lead until Altamont made a ferocious comeback and got within eight points with just two matches remaining (220 pounds, 285 pounds).
Duchesne, however, was extremely confident in its heavier weight-class wrestlers and knew that’s where the difference would be made and the title would be won.
With his team clinging to a single-digit lead, sophomore Aaron Verduzco dug deep and went toe-to-toe with Wayne’s Tava’e Pei in a 220-pound heavyweight bout before knocking off Pei (TF-1.5 5:37) and picking up the championship-sealing victory for his team.
The Eagles held on for the 181.5-175 victory and first state title since 2008.
“That was huge; because of that, we won state,” Verduzco said of his late heroics. “I knew it was all on me. We were winning, but if I didn’t win, they could have come back and beat us.”
Altamont’s Rylee Foy (182) led his team’s comeback with an illustrious fourth-straight individual state title in dominating fashion, as he pinned Duchesne’s Shaydon Summarell in the first two minutes to pick up the rare feat.
“I’ve wrestled him a couple times this year, and I’ve had a real hard time pinning him. I knew if I could get him in the headlock, I could get him,” said Foy. “This one (title) ranks above the rest of them. It’s the one that I’ve been waiting for a long time.”
Meanwhile, Monticello’s Cole Eldredge (152) also won a fourth-consecutive individual state title, while teammate Zac Musselman (126) kept Altamont’s Brady Farnsworth from winning a fourth-straight by pinning him late in the first round and his brother Brandon (145) also took home an individual state title to help the Buckaroos finish in third place.
“This has been a life dream ever since I was a little kid and to finally accomplish it means so much,” Zac Mussleman said. “I’ve wrestled the best and beat him before, and I knew I could beat him again when I walked onto the mat.”
Other individual state champs included Duchesne’s David VanTassel (106) and Wesley Kota Powell (113), Panguitch’s Kolton Owens (120), Piute’s Austin Trapp (132) and Zack Allen (138), Wayne’s Preston Stephensen (160), Wayne’s Ryan Lee, and Altamont’s Cody Mitchell (195) and Talon Gines (285).
2015 UHSAA 1A Utah State Championship Individual Results
106 pounds
Championship Match — David VanTassell, Duchesne, def. Danny Thompson, Altamont, (Dec. 6-0)
3rd Place Match — Austin Bingham, Box Elder, def. Gabe Terry, Mtn. Crest, (Dec. 5-0)
113 Pounds
Championship Match — Wesley Kota Powell, Duchesne, def. Luke Dahl, Wayne, (Fall 3:45)
3rd Place Match — Jake Holbrook, Box Elder, def. Tanner Lofthouse, Mtn. Crest, (Dec. 12-5)
120 Pounds
Championship Match — Kolton Owens, Panguitch, def. Shandon Bradford, Monticello, (SV-1 11-6)
3rd Place Match — Raynger Keckler, Logan, def. Schafer Heiner, Provo, (MD 13-3)
126 Pounds
Championship Match — Zac Musselman, Monticello, def. Brady Farnsworth, Altamont, (Fall 2:40)
3rd Place Match — Gage Bradley, Wasatch, def. Andrew Giles, Provo, (TB-1 2-1)
132 Pounds
Championship Match — Austin Trapp, Piute, def. Stockton Moat, Duchesne, (Dec. 8-5)
3rd Place Match — Brandyn Van Tassell, Maple Mountain, def. Zach Walker, Bountiful, (Fall 1:51)
138 Pounds
Championship Match — Zack Allen, Piute, def. Steven Skewes, Duchesne, (Fall 3:37)
3rd Place Match — Ryan Hansen, Maple Mountain, def. Kyle Smith, Box Elder, (Fall 4:56)
145 Pounds
Championship Match — Brandon Musselman, Monticello, def. Benton Erickson, Piute, (TF-1.5 4:37)
3rd Place Match — Eric Hansen, Sky View, def. Matthew Provost, Wasatch, (Dec. 6-0)
152 Pounds
Championship Match — Cole Eldredge, Monticello, def. Gatlin Thompson, Duchesne, (Fall 1:32)
3rd Place Match — Chris Wengreen, Mtn. Crest, def. DJ Cohen, Wasatch, (Dec. 6-4)
160 Pounds
Championship Match — Preston Stephensen, Wayne, def. Tyler Bagy, Panguitch, (Fall 1:14)
3rd Place Match — Logan Harrison, Logan, def. Connor Kirkland, Roy, (Dec. 5-4)
170 Pounds
Championship Match — Ryan Lee, Wayne, def. Derrik Thompson, Altamont, (Dec. 4-2)
3rd Place Match — Tevin Nuttall, Springville, def. Matt Mott, Logan, (MD 10-1)
182 Pounds
Championship Match — Rylee Foy, Altamont, def. Shaydon Summarell, Duchesne, (Fall 1:24)
3rd Place Match — Rett Cook, Provo, def. Nate Rolling, Highland, (Fall 2:21)
195 Pounds
Championship Match — Cody Mitchell, Altamont, def. Hunter Owens, Panguitch, (Fall 0:42)
3rd Place Match — Korbon Tibbals, Maple Mountain, def. Andy Thompson, Logan, (Dec. 12-6)
220 Pounds
Championship Match — Aaron Verduzco, Duchesne, def. Tava’e Pei, Wayne, (TF-1.5 5:37)
3rd Place Match — Shaun Stockwell, Corner Canyon, def. Bryan Sakurada, Roy, (TB-1 6-4)
285 Pounds
Championship Match — Talon Gines, Altamont, def. Jayden Thompson, Duchesne, (Fall 0:14)
3rd Place Match — Jake Biesinger, Maple Mountain, def. John Halaeua, Murray, (Dec. 8-5)
2015 UHSAA 1A Utah State Championship Team Results
1. Duchesne, 181.5
2. Altamont, 175.0
3. Monticello, 133.5
4. Wayne, 123.0
5. Panguitch, 109.0
6. Piute, 64.0
7. Milford, 59.0
8. Rich, 42.0
9. Whitehorse, 18.0
10. Escalante, 10.0
Ryan Love is a full-time student at the University of Utah studying communications, and has been a part-time sportswriter and scoreboarder for the Deseret News since Oct. 2012.
Follow him on Twitter @RLove7724
EMAIL: rlove@deseretnews.com